She wasn’t the most likeable character of her time. Once rumoured to be the most beautiful woman in 19th century Europe, a queen of both style and drama; model, mistress, self-appointed muse, narcissist; if there’s one thing to know about the Italian Countess de Castiglione– it’s that she was seriously vain. Shipped off to Paris in 1856 to…

The Mad Hatter’s favourite afternoon past-time is not exclusive to the English, for as the true tea connoisseur will reveal, the tradition of sipping delectable concoctions while gracing the air with one’s pinky finger is deeply ingrained within the French nation’s history. It is argued that the decadence of high tea was in fact invented by the French in…

Have you ever wandered throughout the sacred black and white checkered marble halls of Versailles when emptied of the violent bustle of tourists? When such chaos is replaced by the whispered confessions of a lost era that float upon the still air. Once a week, when the Chateau closes its massive gold-gilded doors to the…

Guarded by a fortress of medieval walls cut from thick ominous sandstone, Les Archives Nationales means business. The former humble abode to a member of the French aristocracy, today this decadent sprawling chateau houses France’s most precious documents, each securely locked behind layers of mahogany-framed, etched-glass bookshelves. Formerly bequeathed the title “Hôtel de Soubise,” the…